THE man whose family was taken from him in one of the most shocking crimes in recent Welsh history has spoken of his frustration that it has yet to be resolved.

THE man whose family was taken from him in one of the most shocking crimes in recent Welsh history has spoken of his frustration that it has yet to be resolved.

A fire at Shaun Hibberd's council house on the Gurnos estate in Merthyr Tydfil claimed the lives of his partner Diane Jones, 21, and their baby daughters Shauna and Sarah Jane in 1995.

It is also one of the most controversial unsolved crimes in Welsh legal history, especially as it led to two women being wrongfully convicted of arson.

But Mr Hibberd is angry because while it is under re-view by another force along with several other unsolved crimes in the South Wales Police area, there has been none of the progress seen in other cases, such as the conviction of Mark Hampson last year for the murder of Geraldine Palk in 1990 following DNA evidence.

The frustration of families involved in the saga was compounded in January when Diane's father John died before seeing the case resolved.

Mr Hibberd, 30, solicited little sympathy for his position after boasting in the witness box of being the biggest drug dealer on the Gurnos estate, and his descent into a cycle of heroin addiction.

Now fighting to stay drug free, Mr Hibberd argues that a review by an independent panel led by retired police officers from Devon and Cornwall into the triple murders is long over-due.

His despair is compounded by new lines of inquiry in other cases.

Earlier this month, detectives investigating the 1988 murder of Cardiff prostitute Lynette White arrested and charged a new suspect. And the team probing the Llanharry farmhouse murders of Harry and Megan Tooze have recovered new evidence that could prove vital.

"I can see Lynette's case moving forward, but I want my own case sorted," said Hibberd, who had been serving a prison sentence in Cardiff when he first heard that his girlfriend and children had died in a house fire.

"My cell door opened at 6am and the governor came with the police and a prison officer," he said.

"My cellmate was taken into the corridor and they told me what had happened. I couldn't believe it - it broke my heart.

"When the police told me later that the fire was suspicious, I couldn't handle it. I ended up in the prison hospital."

Hibberd was allowed to attend the funerals of Diane and their children at Pant Cemetery in Merthyr, but remained handcuffed to a prison officer throughout, even as he kissed the coffins of his babies.

"It never goes away, it's just like yesterday," he said.

"The day of the funeral is still in my head. I was treated badly that day. I only had a couple of weeks of my sentence left when they brought me to the cemetery in hand-cuffs."

Hibberd believes that the police failed to broaden the original inquiry to consider all possible motives. His own involvement in drug dealing had even prompted suggestions of

a revenge attack by other dealers who wanted him off the estate.

"I don't think the fire had anything to do with drugs," said Hibberd, who is receiving treatment for drug abuse.

"The only reason I took heroin was to get over the grief," he added.

"There are people who think the fire was my fault, but it wasn't my fault, and it hurts me that people can think that way. I've even had people calling me a murderer. They think I'm no good.

"Diane had been with me for five years and we had two beautiful children.

"I miss my children and I'll never forget them. There isn't a day goes by that I don't think about them."